Or maybe you would sit quietly in a chapel while Bach played improvisations now lost to time.

Where (when) would you go? I invite all of you to tell us your choice in the comments section.

While there are any number of places I can think of, unmissable moments in music, there is only one I could not resist.

Vienna. The night Schubert played and sang Winterreise to a stunned group of friends.

“Come to Schober’s today and I will play you a cycle of terrifying songs; they have affected me more than has ever been the case with any other songs.” He then, with a voice full of feeling, sang the entire Winterreise for us. We were altogether dumbfounded by the sombre mood of these songs, and Schober said that one song only, “Der Lindenbaum”, had pleased him. Thereupon Schubert leaped up and replied: “These songs please me more than all the rest, and in time they will please you as well.”1

Indeed, they have affected me more than has ever been the case with any other songs. I have listened to many performances. While I have my personal favorite, I have always wondered who comes closest to Schubert’s intent. To whom would Schubert say, “Genauso” [just like that].

Leaf from the Cambridge Songs manuscript containing The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius with neumes

Barrett partnered with Benjamin Bagby of the group Sequentia to test whether interpretations of the neumes were feasible given the limitations imposed by instruments of the time, as well as by human hands and voice.

Yes, that one. Sadly, despite its soothing beauty, it has become a cliché. It has been used on television, in commercials (this commercial is clever and ridiculous), and to accompany many wedding walks down the aisle.

Symphonies 4-6 explore the concept of fate, and whether one masters it or yields to it. Tchaikovsky called fate “that tragic power which prevents the yearning for happiness from reaching its goal.”1 Wow.

In his Symphony No. 6, also called the Pathétique, Tchaikovsky breaks the mold of the symphony form. His first and last movements are slow, which is unusual. Also unconventional is that the waltz movement is not in standard 3/4 time, but 5/4, making it sound just a little off. The third movement, the Scherzo, too seems to go a little awry. In its final movement, the symphony does not end with a flourish, but rather, it fades away. The symphony ends with repeated muffled bass notes, which then just stop. To me, this sounds like the final beats of a heart.

Tchaikovsky died nine days after the premiere of the sixth symphony.

There are many fine recordings of the late symphonies. Conductors whose names kept popping up in my reading were Mravinsky and Karajan. Mravinsky’s interpretation is deemed intense; Karajan’s, a benchmark. Other performances by Russian orchestras that I found interesting were conducted by Pletnev and Rostopovich. Choose your favorite, and get ready for an unforgettable experience.

There’s an interesting story behind the solo piano video presented above. The French pianist in the video, Lucas Debargue, was awarded fourth place by the judges in the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition. Of six finalists, there was one gold, a joint silver, a joint bronze, and fourth place. Yet his performance was widely acclaimed, leading some to question the judges’ decisions (first place was awarded to Russian Dmitri Masleev).

Conductor Valery Gergiev, chairman of the competition, made the bold move of insisting that Debargue play at the concert showcasing the winners of the competition, and that is the performance presented above. You can read more about the competition and the controversy here and here and here, from one of the judges.

On April 16, 2016 at 8 PM EDT (GMT-4) the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will present a free live webcast, titled “Ravishing Rachmaninoff.”

The program will include Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 1, featuring French pianist Lise de la Salle, and conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero of the Nashville Symphony. Also on the program is Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and the world premiere of Something for the Dark by Sarah Kirkland Snider, a winner of the DSO’s Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award for female composers.